gram-positive

gram-positive

[gram-poz´ĭ-tiv]

retaining the stain or resisting decolorization by alcohol in Gram's method of staining; see Gram stain. This is a primary characteristic of bacteria whose cell wall is composed of peptidoglycan and teichoic acids.

gram-pos·i·tive

Refers to the ability of a type of bacterium to resist decolorization with alcohol after being treated with crystal violet stain, which imparts a violet color to the bacteria when viewed by light microscopy. This reaction is usually an indication that the outer structure of the bacterium consists of a cytoplasmic membrane surrounded by a thick rigid bacterial cell wall composed of peptidoglycan. See: Gram stain.

gram-positive

/gram-pos·i·tive/ (-poz´it-iv) retaining the stain or resisting decolorization by alcohol in Gram's method of staining, a primary characteristic of bacteria whose cell wall is composed of peptidoglycan and teichoic acid.

gram-positive

or

Gram-positive

(grăm′pŏz′ĭ-tĭv)

adj.

Of, relating to, or being a bacterium that retains the violet stain used in the Gram stain method.

gram-pos·i·tive

(gram-poz'i-tiv)

Refers to the ability of a bacterium to resist decolorization with alcohol after being treated with Gram crystal violet stain, imparting a violet color to the bacterium when viewed by light microscopy. See: Gram stain

Gram-positive

Gram-positive

gram-pos·i·tive

(gram-poz'i-tiv)

Refers to the ability of a type of bacterium to resist decolorization with alcohol after being treated with crystal violet stain, which imparts a violet color to the bacteria when viewed by light microscopy.

gram-positive,

n retaining the violet color of the stain used in Gram's method of staining microorganisms. Staining property is a common method of classifying bacteria. See also Gram's stain.

gram-positive

said of bacteria that resist decolorization by alcohol in Gram's method of staining (see gram's stain) and thus retain the crystal violet-iodine complex and appear purple; a characteristic of bacteria whose cell wall is composed of a thick layer of peptidoglycan and teichoic acid.

Dennis Stevens, chief of infectious diseases at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Boise, Idaho, said that although Zyvox is an "excellent" drug for treating resistant or sensitive gram-positive bacteria, he hopes it will be used mainly in hospitals to treat known antibiotic-resistant gram-positive infections or in cases where there is "a high index of suspicion" that a patient has an infection with a resistant organism.

Among specific topics are regulating virulence by iron in gram-positive bacteria, uropathogenic Escherichia coli virulence and gene regulation, anthrax and iron, the regulation of vesicle formation, and regulation in response to host-derived signaling molecules.

Palmitoleic acid may be useful in topical formulations for treatment of secondary gram-positive bacterial infections, as a gram-positive bacteria antimicrobial in wound dressings, and as a natural gram-positive antimicrobial preservative in skin and hair care products.

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